of gardner



July 14, 1925.

F. E. WHITE KINDLER FOR on, VAPOR STOVES Filed June 9, 1924 Inaenfor:

edl'. T Vhiie,

Patented July 14, 1925 UNITED STATES 1,546,273 PATENT orr cs.

FRED E. WHITE, or GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, nssrenon To FLORENCE sTovnCOM- PANY, or GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, a, Con-PonATToN or MASSACHUSETTS.

KINDLER FOR OIL-VAPOR STOVES.

Application filed June 9,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED E. WHITE, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Gardner, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inKindlers for Oil-Vapor Stoves, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to the type of oil burning stove which burns vaporgenerated by heating kerosene or similar distillates of commerce, saidvapor being mixed by suitable devices with enough air to cause blueflame or smokeless combustion.

I have found that the proper functioning of such burners required (1),an initial flame sufficient to' start the generation of vapor; thisinitial flaineis conveniently obtained by burning a small portion of thefuel used by the burners; (2) such arrange ment of the .burner parts asto permit of a continuous supply of heat to the oil reservoir sufficientto maintain a steady supply of oil Vapor; (3) proper design of theburner to admit and mix with the oil vapor the necessary amount of airfor blue flame combustion and must be of such a nature and material thatit does not readily absorb the tarry and carbonaceous residues left fromthe distillation of the kerosene.

I have found when burning kerosene or other suitable distillates in aburner meeting these requirements, that the initial flame is not neededafter it has once started the vapor generation; the subsequentproduction of the vapor is accomplished by heat communicated to the oilby conduction from the heated metal parts of the burner and by directradiation from the blue flame above the oil reservoir. It has also beenfound in practice that it is a great advantage to minimize, as far aspossible, the production of vapor by the kindler once it has performedits proper work of starting vapor generation, because if the kindler isallowed to continue vapor generation from its upper edge this preventsproper regulation of the flame.

In order to prevent the kindler from generating continuously amounts ofvapor sufficient to cause the difficulties just mentioned, and in orderthat it shall possess other necessary qualities, I have found that thefollowing requirements must be met: (1) The kindler must have sulficientporosity 1924. Serial No. 718,893.

to insure the capillary flow of oil from the reservoir to the burningsurface, but the pores or capillary spaces of the kindler must not be sogreat that a considerable portion of the total oil consumed by theburneris conveyed to the vaporizing zone by the kindler. The main vaporizationmust take place from the free surface of the oil in the kindler bowl orreservoir and not from the surface of the kindler. (2) The kindler mustbe made of non-combustible material unless it is desired to put in a newkindler each time the burner is started. The kindler must possesssufficient mechanical strength so that it can be removed and replacedwithout detriment when'it is necessary to "clean it or the oil cup, asis customary in the operation of oil vapor stoves. (4:) The kindler musthave a proper burning edge, i. e., a surface which, because of capillaryproperties, subdivides the oil into particles small enough to ignite inair by the flame of a match. If this last requirement is not met, it isfound in practice impossible to start'aflame with ordinary kerosene orlike commercial distillates by ignition with a match.

In constructing kindlers to meet these requirements, I use as a baseasbestos fabric woven in such fashion as to secure great strength andthe desired porosity. This fabric is impregnated with solutions of saltsor substances which deposit in the pores when the kindlers are dried.The strength of the impregnating solution is chosen so that there issufficient closing of the pores of the fabric to adjust the rate ofcapillary flow of oil in the manner desired. The impregnating substancesare chosen so as to be stable at the operating temperature 95 of thekindler zone, which usually does not exceed 870 F. In practice, I havefound water glass (sodium silicate solution) to be a very satisfactoryimpregnating material, but I do not wish to be construed as limiting myinvention to this impregnating substance. In manufacturing the kindlersI impregnate with the water glass solution in such manner that only themiddle portion A of the kindler is treated with the solution, leaving atthe top and bottom uncoated portions B, the upper edge serving as aburning edge. I have also made successful kindlers with only one edgeunimno pregnated.

position in dotted lines.

I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, one form of device, andtwo diagrammatic methods of forming the same.

In these drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of the inventionshowing the device in operative Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic View ofapparatus for impregnating the device ofFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the part of the apparatus of. Fig.- 2. v H v Fig;4 is aplan View ofamodified apparatus for .protectingthe edges of theasbestos blank while. impregnating; the central portion.- I

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of- Fig, 4. The material used in thesekindle-rs may be impregnated on a simple machine consisting of a roller1, kept'constantly wet with aifilm ofthe impregnating solution and overwhich the stock 2 passes. Pressure willbe applied at the point of,contact ofthe roller and the stock, as by roller 3. One or both edgesof the material may be left uneo'ate d which can be accomplished by asuitable type of roller, After passing the above described roller, thestock will pass through a" set of squeeze rolls. A and 5, which willremove any excess of solution The impregnated material willthen be driedon racks at room. temperature or up to as high as 150 F. if desired.

Or a simple machi e of the, following.

type'may be used to impregnate. the kindler. A strip ofstockfiof-sufiicient lengthrto make three kindlers, will be. placed between twopieces of wood or steel,;7 and 8,-such that each edgewill be protectedbythem while the center of the stock will be ready to receive theimpregnating. solution. some type of eccentric clamp, as at 9, will beused which by the simple moving of a handle, will squeeze the edges ofthe stock: between the wood or steeh- This pr'vehts the edges'frombecoming coated. The solution will then bepaint'e'donto the center ofthe strip with a suitable brush. The stock will be allowed to remain inthis clamped position long enough to insure that the solution will notrun into the edges after it is removed This need not-be longer than onehour.v The-st'ocli ca-n then be removed and drying, pom Qlet'ed at11001211: temperature or up to 150 h if" desire V a 1 Having thusdescribed my, invention, what I claim is: p p y I i 1. A kindlercomprising a strip of fabric having aportion impregnated with a poreclosing composition, its upper edge. being unimpregnated. p l

v 2. A kindle-r including ,ast'rip of fabric having a ,portion thereofimpregnated with sodium silicate, its upper edge being un impregnated; v4 I 3. A kindlerincluding. a strip of; fabric having its longitudinalcentral; portion iinf pregnated with sodium silicate, its upper andlower edges being unimpregnated. f

4:. Askindler inclu ling a. stri pfastestos fabric" impregnated in: :themiddle longitudinal portion thereof with a-pore closingis'nb stancestable up to '37 F], having. its upper edge unimpregnated. 1 i

In testimony whereof, I aflix mysignatur'e';

FREDEI

